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SDC Director-General Manuel Sager visits Poland

Article,
21.09.2015

From 14 to 17 September SDC Director-General Manuel Sager visited Poland, where he attended a conference on Switzerland's contribution to the enlarged EU. The visit was also an opportunity to meet with colleagues from the Swiss contribution office and with project partners, and to visit various projects in the field.

Mr Sager meeting with project partners and regional authorities in Świętokrzyskie during a visit of the SDC’s regional development project.

During his first day in Poland, Mr Sager visited the Swiss cooperation office in Warsaw, where he gained insights into the multi-faceted cooperation programme with Poland and the role and workings of the cooperation office itself. The visit left him satisfied that quite apart from the evident commitment of his SDC colleagues, the necessary structures and processes exist both on the Polish and Swiss sides to wind up the project by mid-June 2017.

Mr Sager began the second day of his visit at a summing-up conference on results achieved to date. Projects on health, regional development, (border) security and research were presented. At a press conference, Mr Sager also spoke about why it is in Switzerland's best interests to make an enlargement contribution to Poland. Mr Sager also availed himself of the opportunity to meet with officials from the Polish ministry that organised the conference and the Polish partner responsible for implementing the Swiss contribution, the National Coordination Unit (NCU). During these meetings, Mr Sager underscored the fact that Switzerland genuinely wants to promote economic development and the reduction of disparities in Poland, which is why proven results and quality is important.

After the conference, Mr Sager visited four projects in south-east Poland:

In the City of Radom, he visited the police headquarters of Mazovia Province. Poland's roads are among the most dangerous in Europe: more than 3,000 people died in road accidents in 2013. A number of measures are being taken to improve road safety: training courses for the police, exchanges with Swiss experts, procurement of police vehicles, roadworks to reduce speed, and road accident prevention campaigns. Both sides have described this project as a success.

In Sandomierz and Opatów, Mr Sager visited a project to promote regional development in Świętokrzyskie Province. This is one of 10 similar projects in four relatively poor provinces in south-east Poland. The project supports local, economic development and aims to improve tourism services. The objective is for the tourism sector to generate income and provide job prospects for future generations. The programme aims to create new jobs outside the agricultural sector and thereby also alternative income opportunities for the rural population.

In Kielce, which is also in Świętokrzyskie Province, Mr Sager visited a partnership project. The partnership project one of 336 projects within the partnership fund, which are being implemented by local NGOs. NGOs play an important role in strengthening civil society: the active participation of civil society is intended to promote social and economic cohesion.

Furthermore, Mr Sager visited a project to improve healthcare and social services. In total, there are four similarly projects in four relatively poor provinces in south-east Poland, which aim toi mprove the quality of the infrastructure as well as social and healthcare services. The goal is to enhance the quality of and access to high-quality services and thereby improve the living conditions of the elderly, people with mental and physical disabilities and children lacking parental care. The project is thus making an important contribution to the social integration of disadvantaged groups.